NorthPhil Expo to share wonders of tourism & water

MANILA, Philippines - An international expo at the SM City Clark will share with the world the wonders of water and tourism in North Philippines (NorthPhil).

Dubbed as NorthPhil Tourism and Travel Expo 2013, the event will showcase the region’s water resources management and conservation efforts in supporting the United Nations International Year of Water and World Tourism Day with the theme “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future.”

The NorthPhil Expo 2013 is a public-private partnership effort of the northern regional offices of the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Association of Tourism Officers of Central Luzon, and the Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp. (PETCO).

DOT Central Luzon director Ronnie Tiotuico cited NorthPhil’s vast marine and fresh water resources as among the diverse tourism attractions to be featured in the expo.

“From white sand beaches to the country’s longest and largest river (Cagayan River), North Philippines is teeming with water resources between the West Philippine Sea and the Pacific Ocean,” Tiotuico said.

The north also hosts the Clark International Airport, named as the Third Best Airport Freeport Zone in the World based on a survey by FDI magazine of the London-based Financial Times Group.

“The Clark airport now brings in almost a million passengers and boosts tourism in the entire North Philippines,” Tiotuico said.

Slated at the SM City Clark on Nov. 15-17, the NorthPhil Expo 2013 will be presented by the DOT regional offices of the Cordillera Administrative Region, Region 1 (Ilocos and Pangasinan), Region 2 (Cagayan Valley), and Region 3 (Central Luzon), with the support of the Association of Tourism Officers of Central Luzon, Central Luzon Tourism Council, and PETCO.

The exhibits will include new and emerging tourism and travel destinations, products and services, provincial pavilions, and corporate booths offering affordable, and exciting package tours.

The highlight of this year’s expo is the Buyers Meet Sellers Program where foreign buyers from ASEAN countries will be hosted to meet with the local sellers.

The expo will treat visitors to three days of fun involving cultural presentations, raffle draws of airline tickets and hotel accommodations, flairtending competition, quiz challenge, corporate game shows, crafts, culinary demonstrations, and food festival.

The exhibitors include companies in agri-tourism, eco-tourism, time-share and leisure properties, airlines and air alliances, hotels and resorts, national and local government agencies, restaurants, retirement villages, spa resorts and destinations, theme parks and amusement centers, foreign tourism boards, tourism transport operators, travel and tourism associations, publications, travel insurance, and wellness centers, among others.

The expected visitors are conference and convention organizers from the Philippines and abroad, educational institutions, government entities, international and domestic travelers, local, foreign and corporate buyers, tour organizers, planners and holiday specialists, travel agents and tour operators, travel enthusiasts, and the general public.

The event’s venue is a 17-hectare lifestyle hub with over 300 shops and restaurants, and frequented by over 60,000 visitors daily as the mall sits prominently in a popular international tourism destination in Central Luzon.

Tiotuico said major destinations in the north alone accounted for nearly 14 percent or over 1.5 million of the country’s foreign and domestic tourist volume of 11.7 million in 2010.

This annual expo has been drawing local and international attention to North Philippines, which hosts a diverse but contiguous sprawl of tourism attractions boasting two international gateways — the Clark and Subic freeports.

For more information on the expo, contact PETCO at (632) 832-9303 to 05, fax at (632) 556-2723, e-mail at northphilexpo@gmail.com or visit www.northphilexpo.com.